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Friday, December 30, 2011

Welcome, Jean. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

Sometimes too much, but my critique partners are quick to
point out when that happens.

I love those critique partners who can keep me on the right
track. What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?
I had to consult my family on this one. They said people are always surprised
at my love of rollercoasters. The bigger the better and if they go out over
water, perfect! Normally, I’m pretty wimpy about heights and anything that goes
fast.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?
It seems like I’ve always been a writer. I was on the high school newspaper
staff and had an essay on my family’s Christmas traditions published in the Buffalo
Evening News when I was a senior. From THE high school paper, I moved on to
my college newspaper (I was a journalism major), followed short stints at the Batavia (NY) DailyNews and the Montebello (CA) News, and then to my current
job with a financial publisher in Albany,
NY.

My first published piece was in the college literary
magazine. Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.
I primarily read romance. Historicals are my favorite. But I also like women’s
fiction and nonromance historical novels.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?
I’m not sure I do. Sunday church service and coffee hour afterwards really help
me unwind before the next week starts. We regularly sing a hymn I particularly
like, ‘Come and Findthe QuietCenter.’

How do you choose your characters’ names?
Sometimes I name characters after people I know. Other times, the characters
come to me with their own names.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?
Publishing my books.

What is your favorite food?

Ice cream, just about any flavor but coffee. My second
favorite food is broccoli.

Broccoli and ice cream. That would make a good character
trait for in a novel. What is the problem with writing that was your greatest
roadblock, and how did you overcome it?
Time and giving my novel writing the priority it should have are my biggest roadblocks.
I put in about nine hours a weekday at my day job. Since that’s not something I
can change right now, I’ve been working on prioritizing the rest of my time and
tasks.

Tell us about the featured book.

I got a germ of an idea for Small-Town Sweethearts when a family member told me she liked her
new church because the members were more standoffish and private. From that
germ, the story evolved:

With the help of God and the love of Drew Stacey, a
down-sized Wall Street analyst turned church camp manager, NYC assistant art
director and former town misfit Emily, ne Jinx, Hazard finds the thing she
wants most in the place she least wants to be —
Paradox Lake. Through having to be responsible for her niece, interaction with
the towns’ people, and falling in love with Drew, she learns the meaning of
Christian fellowship.

Like all of my books, Small-Town Sweethearts is set in my native Update New York.

Please give us the first page of the book.

The
thrumming in her head started at the EssexCounty line and
crescendoed into a pounding by the time she’d reached Route 74. She wiped one
hand, then the other on her jeans and gripped the steering wheel of her rented
SUV. She was in control. She was Emily Hazard, assistant art director at an
award-winning New York City
advertising agency. Not Emily Hazard, the klutz-queen jinx-deluxe of SchroonLakeCentralHigh School.

She
drove through Hazardtown, the four corners community in New
York’s Adirondack Mountains that
her ancestors had settled two centuries ago. Little remained to show the
once-bustling logging town it had once been. A new name on the diner told her
it had changed ownership again. The gas station convenience store proclaimed
“Souvenirs Here” in a big red, white, and blue roadside sign. Kitty corner, the
CommunityChurch sat as it had for the past one
hundred and fifty years with its double entry doors that had originally
separated the women parishioners from the men. As a teen, Emily had made a
point of entering through the “men’s” door. The new-ish brick volunteer fire
department building occupied the fourth corner. Ironically, the old clapboard
hall had burned down when she was in college.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Feedblitz, Facebook, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link.Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

30 comments:

This sounds like a great read, again, Lena. So glad i can count on you for finding the good ones for me! Thanks for the opportunity to learn more about the authors, and to win. Me- i am small town or country, so would love this one.

I am small town and country and love books like this.Hope I win this one....I'm amazed that you're favorite food is ice cream, but you didn't like coffee flavor, when you like coffee.....I like broccoli,but it would be far from my favorite food :)Kentucky Lucky Lady/Oh

Nathanael -- Your comment jumped out at me because our son is also named Nathanael, same spelling as yours. I'm also a huge Buffalo Bills fan (no matter how many games they lose), having grown up in Western New York.

I'm glad that you manange to find a little time to write. I'm sure it would be nice to write full time but you probabaly need food and heat. Your story sounds like my type of story. Sweet and happy (eventually). I'm from Ohio. kristiedonelson(at)gmail(dot)com Thank you. Happy 2012!